Rechargeable batteries are commonly used in many technologies, for example in electric or hybrid vehicles for use both on-highway and off-highway. For example, rechargeable batteries are frequently used in automotive applications (on highway), offshore applications (off highway), in a warehouse environment (for example for use with mechanical handling equipment such as fork-lift trucks and autonomous guided vehicles, for example as described in WO 98/49075—off highway) as well as in energy storage applications (both commercial and domestic—also off highway).
In order to monitor and control the performance of rechargeable batteries in such applications, a battery management system (BMS) may be used.
As described in WO 2015/104263, which relates to a storage system employing the use of battery-powered autonomous guided vehicles, or robots, there is undesired robot standstill when the batteries are being charged. This reduces the operational cycle of the storage system as a whole, for example to typically 16 hours a day to accommodate 8 hours of charging time. To address this problem, WO 2015/104263 describes a battery comprising a receiving means enabling releasable connection to a corresponding charge station. WO 2015/104263 describes interchanging a first battery with a second battery, so that the robot can remain in use while the first battery is being charged by a charging station.